What Was Hidden Chapter 4
by Dee-lusions
Summary: Shuurei has landed in a bit of trouble and Sakujun as is helpful as ever ,


Title: What Was Hidden Chapt 4  
Genre: Romance/None  
Rating: Fiction Rated: T  
Summary: A story of what might have happen during that journey between  
Sakujun and Shuurei. This is my 1st fanfict ever and 1st of Yura  
Kairi's Saiunkoku Monogatari.  
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Chapter 4

Shuurei woke, head throbbing and body aching as if she'd been beaten instead of her mattress. Still, her bed was a silken cocoon cradling her with delicate blanket covering her. Surrounding her, the room held rish furniture, lush carpets, and fragile lace.

Everywhere she looked, Shuurei could only see wasted money that could feed her family or repair her home. Frustrated, she threw back the blankets and swung her feet to the floor, pulling herself up at the same time.

Unfortunately both her head and her ankle disliked these moves so much that she decided leaning back against the headboard of the bead was a good idea.

_What did that demon put in my drink?_ Shurrei shook her head to clear it. Now wasn't the time to try to figure that out. First, she needed to get away from Senya before he returned to the room.

With a groan, Shuurei pulled herself up again, this time ignoring the pain. A quick check of the room resulted in her finding her bags and erhu. Shuurei knew Senya would return soon, she scurried to the door and pulled it open to find two large men towering over her.

"May I be of service, my lady?" A smaller man stepped from behind one of the men.

When Shuurei didn't respond and just stared at him, the man cleared his throat and bowed. "I am Li Xiao Xu. Please just address me as Li."

"No thank you, Mr. Li." Shuurei paused, than added. "Wait, please tell Mr. Senya that I appreciate his help and that I am on my way. I hope he ha a long and productive life."

"Ah, you will be able to convey those sentiments to the young master youself when he returns, my lady. Please return to the room." Li began, only to be cut off.

"No, I am busy and need to leave. I mean no disrespect, but I must leave."

When Shuurei moved forward, the guards mirrored her movements. She sighed in frustration. _Really, if it was going to be this hard, maybe climbing down from the roof would be easier._

The solid sound of wood meeting flesh filled the silent hallway. One of the guards slumped to the floor. The second guard and Li both held lethal swords and faced several armed men.

Li slipped behind the guard and herded Shuurei into the room without a word. Light flashing on the blade of the sword seemed to indicate the start of the fight as Li slammed the door shut and locked it.

"Go into the bedroom now, my lady."

Shuurei turned to follow his instructions but gasped. In the doorway, a beautiful man lounged with a sword pointed straight at her. His long, black hair draped over his shoulder in a long braid. "Don't move, Kourin, or else you might find yourself in a bit more danger than you are now."

"Who are you?" Li moved around Shuurei and slid between her and the slender man in front of them.

"I am known as Tomio, the greatest lover and deadliest assassin in these parts.

However," Tomio paused to bow, never taking his eyes off of Li. "I've come here on a personal matter. I need to talk to Kourin and you are in my way, Li."

Unwilling to wait for any of the men to get around to her, Shuurei surreptitiously studied the room for another escape route. Li's sword swung into her view as he lunged toward Tomio.

Distracted, Shurrei watched in horror as Tomio seemed to glide to the side as his sword cut into Li. At the same moment, the men burst through the door grabbing her before she could move.

"It seems we can have our chat now, Kourin." Tomio smiled at Shuurei as he cleaned his sword off on Li's red robe.

Sakujun lay on the bed staring at the ceiling of Tomio's room. For a teahouse, its elegance was quiet and soothing, but a current of forbidden sensuality lent it the allure of a gem glittering in a pond.

The door opened. Sakujun ignored the people entering the room carrying the customary tables prepared for entertainment. When the door closed, there was only one left.

"You had the nerve to make me wait, Tomio?" Sakujun asked in a soft voice. He turned on his side to watch the man glide toward him, a seduction in black and red silk.

"Ah, it was but a small wait." He pouted prettily, his black eyes dancing. "I couldn't come to you wearing the dirt of the streets and I came bearing many gifts." With a small flourish, Tomio pulled a small wooden box from his sleeve and tossed it to Sakujun.

Inside the box, a small dagger lay cradled in a bed of silk. Sakujun pulled the dagger from it's sheath. Small rubies had been set into its metal haft. He glanced up at Tomio. "Did you order this from the same smith that made Li's dagger?"

Tomio smiled. "Yes, that came from the same smith. I don't think there's any other who makes metal hafts like those."

Wary, Sakujun set the box on the table and pretended to continue to admire the knife. "This is nice. You shouldn't have."

"I'm not finished."

Tomio's lips being next to his ear made Sakujun jump. Sliding the knife back into it's sheath, Sakujun tucked it into his sash.

Tomio chuckled and handed him a cup of tea in one of the cups he'd brought. "Thank you for the new set. It is… very lovely."

A sharp clap had music playing to which Tomio began dancing and singing to. His long limbs, beautifully extended as he rolled his hips seduced as well as his limpid gaze as he smiled behind a hand or shoulder when he turned. He even used his hair in the dance to veil and unveil parts of his face and body as he danced. Sakujun fully appreciated the beauty of the man in front of him.

This man could rival almost all women in the art of seduction. Coy looks, beauty, grace, he held all the prized elements of a courtesan, but there was more. Sakujun knew under the many masks, that Tomio only allowed him to see more. Beyond what even he knew there was a well even deeper that hid many secrets that tempted him to try to learn more about Tomio.

_Sweet poison that breaks women's and men's hearts indiscriminately. A cold assassin, passionate lover, indifferent partner, or is there another hidden facet to Tomio? Could it be that there is still something that I've not seduced from the courtesan? _Sakujun tipped his head to the side as he played with the question. Maybe it was a little too soon to throw away this toy. Tomio had, to some degree, the same gift the Shuurei had of being able to keep boredom at bay.

The music ended and Tomio stopped short of arms reach. "I… I am embarrassed about what happened before. Please, forget about what I said." He gracefully dropped to his knees. As he did, his robe loosened, exposing his shoulder and neck which were framed by the silken strands of his black hair.

Sakujun rose from the bed and knelt behind Tomio, wrapping his arms around his shoulders. "I brought you the set in apology for breaking the cup yesterday." Coming to a quick decision, he continued. Gently, he turned Tomio's face toward his and looked into the large black eyes. "I didn't replace the cup I broke, because it represents our friendship in the past." He nodded toward the table beside them. The black tea set gleamed in the sunlight. "I want our friendship to blossom, not grow fragile with age. A new set for a renewed friendship."

"It's a beautiful set. Thank you."

The quiet words and carefully blank face told Sakujun that his message had been understood. Things in life were fleeting and fragile. Most would end up broken and useless. If he wasn't careful, he too would become like the old set, broken, useless, and replaced with something new. However, if he continued to prove his value, he would be found at Sakujun's side.

"I will be leaving tomorrow. I will send word when I am back to visit." Sakujun cupped Tomio's face with his hand caressed his cheek with his thumb. "You are a beautiful peony, beautiful and bold against the white snow of the courtesan court. No one can rival your talent or beauty, Tomio. I see you."

When the mask started to slip from Tomio's eyes, Sakujun buried his face into the man's silky hair in order to hide the triumph he knew the man would read in his own expression. _A few well chosen words and all women and men fall into my hands. I am a puppet-master of men._

Sakujun took a moment to play with Tomio's hair. It was one of his favorite things about the man. The blue-black hair, so warm and fine, felt like strands of liquid silk. He inhaled and paused with a frown. For a moment, the image of Shuurei came to mind as he smelled a scent close to hers on Tomio's hair. He inhaled again, still playing with the courtesan's hair and staying relaxed. _No, this time, I am sure. This is my kitten's scent. What has my old toy been doing with my new one?_

Sakujun pulled the knife from it's sheath and slid it beneath Tomio's chin. Instead of stiffening and trembling, the courtesan laughed softly.

"I was wondering when you would start questioning me about things."

Thrusting the man away, Sakujun stood and leaned against a cabinet. "The knife, the silk, and the box all belong to Li. Your hair smells of Kourin. What is going on, Tomio?"


End file.
